U.S. stock futures lower on European data

Dell’s shares off after PC maker forecasts revenue short of estimates

By

KateGibson

WilliamL. Watts

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures fell Wednesday after a measure of euro-area manufacturing and services declined in February and as investors looked to coming data on the U.S. housing market.

Fitch Ratings downgraded Greece’s credit rating to C from CCC, signaling it expects imminent default. The ratings firm reiterated that it would view the country’s planned debt swap with private bondholders as a “distressed debt exchange,” resulting in a rating of restricted default.

After the completion of the exchange, Greece’s sovereign rating would be moved out of restricted default and re-rated at a level consistent with the firm’s assessment of the country’s post-default structure and credit profile, Fitch said.

A strong rally by Wall Street has left market participants “fully invested” for now, with markets requiring more fodder to continue the rally, said Steen Jakobsen, chief economist at Saxo Bank. A failure to close above the 1,370 level by the S&P 500
SPX, -1.54%
leaves the market vulnerable to a near-term downturn, he said.

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